Hi, I live in zone 6. I have been told that gerbers will return. Anyone have luck with them returning?
What is the best daisies for this area? LMK
Teresa in KY
Gerber Daisy
I think whoever told you that probably had them mixed up with another sort of daisy--gerbers are only hardy to about zone 9 so you'd have to bring them in for the winter if you want to keep them from year to year. I know that daisies in genus Leucanthemum (like shasta daisy) would be hardy in your area. Also gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) would work as well. Probably others as well--I'm sure other people will have suggestions too.
Thanks, I thought I had read that somewhere. I will try and save seeds then. They are almost fake looking. This is the first year that I have had them
Teresa.
Rudbeckia hirta is a tender perennial and won't even come back here in zone 7
Try Echinacea 'Tiki Torch' as a bright (yet taller) alternative.
http://www.terranovanurseries.com/wholesale/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=420
Actually, I usually have gerbers come back in 7b, but I think 6a is probably pushing it. Mine weren't well mulched this winter, and I lost all but one.
I planted a few more that Wallyworld had on sale.
Plant Files lists Rudbeckia hirta as hardy to zone 5 and I've seen them on reputable mail order nursery sites listed as zone 5 as well. And I remember having them in my parents' garden when I was growing up in Cleveland (zone 5b) and they were perennial there.
I am aware that it is listed to Zone 5. So are a lot of other things that do not reliably come back. Delphinium elatum is rated to 8b, but I've had hundreds of customers who tell me that it does not survive the winter in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs. Not because of the cold, because of our hot, humid summers. Canna 'Pretoria' is said to have a zone range from 8a to 11 on Plant Files, but we have one that comes up every year at work, which is 6b.
My grandmother has had an Agapanthus africanus in her garden for ten years. In Buffalo, NY.
Granted, perhaps you have more experience with the straight species, but I have never heard of some of the more popular cultivars ever wintering over. I'm not saying that you didn't see them wintering over in Cleveland, I'm just saying that whatever the zone rating, Rudbeckia hirta is an unreliable and weak plant best produced annually by seed.
One thing that I've found here is that our freezing/thawing patterns in the spring really impact the zonal designation. We don't typically have snow, so there's no insulation for the plants. And then the crowns get full of water and undergo freeze/thaw pattern. Covering the plant crowns does help with that.
In addition, our natural soil is pretty clay, which doesn't help with drainage.
Anyway, it's not temperature alone for us that dictates zone and different microclimates in the area vary widely. In addition to rain during freezing weather, we have a lot of hills, trees, altitude changes, bodies of water that impact those microclimates.
I wish the catalogs would list heat tolerance as well as cold hardiness.
Yes.
It would be awesome for more places to list heat tolerance. I started gardening in Buffalo, where a 80 degree day makes front page news. In Philadelphia, they call 80 degrees "April". *rolls eyes*
Until I moved down here I never would have guessed that we are in the same heat zone as parts of Virginia, North Carolina and even Northern Georgia.
I do think the way that the heat zone mapping is done needs to be amended. Right now it's based on the number of days above a certain temperature, but does not incorporate humidity (at least not that I've seen).
It's only May and I've had to be dead careful on the amounts of phlox and monarda I purchase for the store lest they get mildew and don't sell.
So far the best system of zones that I've run across is the one that Sunset came up with--they factor in winter lows, summer highs, rainfall, and other climate factors to give a much more accurate picture of what will grow where. There are plenty of plants that should grow in my USDA zone and heat zone but I have trouble with them, but the Sunset zones have never led me astray (yet!). Unfortunately the Sunset zones haven't really caught on much outside of the West--they have developed zones for the rest of the country but I haven't really seen them used much except out here.
I didn't even know there were Sunset zones for other than the West
I was going to mention this, but ecrane beat me to it. Here's an introduction to Sunset's zones:
http://www.sunset.com/garden/climate-zones/climate-zones-intro-us-map-00400000036421/
That's so funny--I was just about to post that exact same link!
I figured that it was just about the next step. Great minds think alike!
I am in zone 7b and have gerber's that have been coming back for several years. But that's about all they do. I have nice foliage. But the blooms take a long time and are kinda piteful.
Mine have been pretty good until this last year, and I'd let the mulch get thin. I think mine did well because they were in a bed at the edge of our creek, so it drains really well. In the past I've even had trouble growing them in a planter.
The orangy red ones seem to come back more reliably than the other colors, also.
I have been growing gebera daisies for about 20 Yrs., and most of them are still in the same old spot.One problem I have is when I planted the daisy garden, I looked like "sunny brook farm", now I am "shady dale".
This is a gebera I am fond of that I grew from seed, although Baggy says he is the responsible one.
What I do here to protect through the winter,(we don't have much snow either), is cover with pine needles.I put enough pine needles on the plant that you have to pull it back after last frost, so it can grow.
Mike
Baggy has been call many things!!
This message was edited May 31, 2009 4:07 PM
I'm Mike's neighbor practically and I have Gerbers come back too - sometime. I think for me it's probably more the heavy clay soil which they don't like in winter. Although I have never specially mulched them as Mike does, so I may try that and adding more drainage.
Before enlarging the pic, Baggy looked like a big ol' salamander!!